Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Veg. Frankie

A sizzling, spicy, tangy, cheesy wrap. 'Frankie' is a well loved roadside snack!
If you have grown up in Mumbai, a 'Tibbs Frankie' stall would get back fond memories with friends. The enticing aroma around this food stall just commands your brain to walk towards it. Biting into a HOT frankie and cursing yourself for not having the patience to let it cool down a little, sure has happened more than a few times to most of us!

Did you know frankie has an interesting history? Well, I sure din't. And guess what...it is quite a story. In the year 1967, Mr. Amarjit Tibb on returning back from England has a stopover in Beirut. Here he tried the Pita Bread wrap and this fascinated him. Upon his return, he kept innovating this dish to suit an Indian palette. After a years worth of research along with his wife they hit upon the perfect concoction. Once the Indianised wrap was a hit with his family and friends, they introduced it to the Mumbai markets. The rest is history.

Today I am sharing a Potato filled frankie recipe with you. The most popular pick for vegetarians. My husband thinks it tastes quite similar to the one you get on Mumbai streets but with less grease and ignoring the sorrow on his face while mentioning less grease, I take that as a compliment.
As far as I am concerned, I cannot make myself choose a potato frankie when chicken/mutton frankie is listed just below it! So even though I enjoyed this frankie a lot I can never be absolutely sure if it tastes like the ones you get on Mumbai streets. Nevertheless, I can guarantee this would make a great wrap!

Step 2 - Let us get our Tangy sauce ready. Mix all the spice powders mentioned under the tangy sauce tab in the ingredients above with water. Beat well till the mixture is lump free. Add water till the consistency is very liquidy. Keep aside. Over time, this paste will keep thickening. So remember to adjust the consistency with water right before you use it. A thick paste can be too overpowering.

Step 3 - Moving on to the onion mixture. In a bowl, mix the onions, red chilly powder, chaat masala and salt well. Once well coated, keep aside. Add very little salt here. Remember the chaat masala already has salt in it.

Step 4 - Getting to the star of the show - our potato filing. In a large bowl, mash the potatoes well. Add the turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, green chillies, coriander, frankie masala, dry mango powder, chaat masala and salt. Knead well and adjust the taste to your preference. If the potato mixture is too pasty, add cornflour till it is possible to form shapes with the filing. Oil your palms and shape the potato into elongated patties.

Step 5 - Pour a few tblsp of oil in a flat pan. When it heats up, place the patties on the pan and fry them till the bottoms turn brown. Pour a few drops of oil on the top and gently flip the patties. Fry the other side till it browns. Do not over handle the patties. This will ensure even browning and less breakage. Once done, drain them onto a paper towel.

Step 6 - Let us assemble the frankie now. Keep the flame on medium to low heat for the entire process. Get all our ready ingredients closer to your pan.

1)In a flat pan, heat a 1/4 tsp of butter (or more) and place your uncooked roti on it. Once you notice light brown spots on the bottom, flip the roti.

2) Without wasting time, place your potato patty in the center of your roti.

3)Add some of your onion mixture all over the patty.

4) Pour some tangy sauce over the onions.

5) Pour a little chilli vinegar over the sauce. Make sure you drop a few chillies on it for that extra kick.

6) Sprinkle some grated cheese over it.

Roll it up and pierce a toothpick to keep the wrap in place, if it doesn't behave!

Indulge immediately. It does get soggy if you let it sit for too long.

Hope you enjoy this one!

Tips:
You can get Frankie masala in your Indian store. If this is missing, Kathi Roll masala works well.

You can make your own bread at home, but readymade works best for me. Rolling a highly elastic all purpose flour dough makes me an unhappy cook!

You can saute the onions a little while making your onion mixture, but we like the sharpness of a raw onion when we bite into a soft potato filled wrap. So we leave it as it is.

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That's Me!

I was introduced to cooking by my mother and grandmothers...
I believe Cooking is MAGIC!
You collect a few things, mix and match and voila you made someone smile..:)
I strongly think that good recipes should be shared so everyone can enjoy them. So here is my recipe book for all of you to indulge!